182 



EQUINE PHYSIOLOGY. 



head being carried to the ground; the head then makes a quick 

 movement to the side, and the food is carried to the side of the 

 mouth to be ground up by the molars (see Teeth). 



Liquid may be taken in by (a) sucking, in the young; (b) pump- 

 ing by piston action of tongue, (c) aspiration; by an inspiratory 

 movement. The second one is the most often used by the horse. 



MASTICATION. 



Mastication is a complex act, in which the food is triturated in 

 the mouth between the two jaws and teeth. (For anatomical 

 considerations, see Teeth.) 



Movements of the jaws. 



In the horse these are depression, elevation and rotation, and 

 in mastication make eighty strokes per minute. The incisors 

 serve to bite off a portion of food, which is then, by the tongue 

 and muscles of the face, carried between the molars, where it is 

 comminuted to a much greater degree. 



THE TIME OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE TEETH. 



Meade- Smith, from Kreutzer. 



